By REGINALD KANYANE
Motorists are urged to be warier and vigilant as car hijackings become more prevalent. This comes after four suspects allegedly entered a Global garage in Pudimoe Township in Taung with handguns and demanded money from the owner before they fled.
North West police spokesperson, Brig Sabata Mokgwabone said: “A case of armed robbery and hijacking was registered after the suspects allegedly entered the convenient shop with handguns, demanded money and the owner’s car keys.
“They fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash and a white polo Vivo. No injuries were suffered and investigations are still under way. The car was found abandoned near Matolong farm in Taung and there are no arrests yet,” Mokgwabone said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele tabled the crime statistics 1st Quarter of 2021/22 financial year. Cele said the 1st Quarter of the 2020/21 financial year coincided with level 5 lockdown that kept almost everyone indoors and most businesses closed including taverns, liquor outlets, night clubs, sporting activities and places of entertainment, which are generally attributors to causative factors of crime.
“The never seen before pleasant picture of last year was compared to a normal period of 2019 and hence the comparison was distorted and very skewed. While more lives were saved during the ‘Crime Holiday’ the police did not claim easy victories.
“The double figure eye popping increase in most crime categories is informed by the same reasons stated above of adjusted lockdown levels and distorted crime trends. It is important for us to give this particular context and adequate explanation upfront, to mitigate the shock and fears that may arise at this juncture,” he said.
Cele further said in the first quarter, the sub-categories of crimes such as contact crimes, sexual offences, aggravated robberies, contact-related and property-related crimes have recorded a never seen before double digit increases.
He said the trio crimes also increased compared to the distorted reporting period on 2020/2021 period.
“Aggravated robberies such as Carjacking increased by 92.2% compared to the previous corresponding period. This figure would have increased by 13.1% if compared to the same period in 2019/2020.
“There were 1 340 more residential robberies in the month of April to June 2020, compared to the corresponding period in the previous financial year. Compared to the 2019/2020 financial year, there are 132 more cases recorded,” he said.
The Guardian 
The robbers are running away now from big towns because of stricter measures and visibility of law enforcement officials and vigilant
LikeLike